Borja Valero said a fit Giuseppe Rossi is Fiorentina's secret weapon for their season-opening Serie A fixture against AC Milan this weekend.
Valero said he hopes that not only will Fiorentina be able to get three points to continue their preseason success but that they can once again finish ahead of the Rossoneri this season.
The Viola finished fourth last term, six positions above a faltering Milan side who have taken steps to ensure that will not happen again this term.
In addition to appointing Sinisa Mihajlovic as coach, the Rossoneri have splashed the cash this summer with Carlos Bacca, Luiz Adriano, Alessio Romagnoli and Andrea Bertolacci all arriving for a combined fee of €83 million.
They certainly mean business, but Spanish midfielder Valero has warned them to expect a rude awakening on Saturday, not least because they have a new signing of their own who did not cost a single cent, but is worth his weight in goals.
"If he's fit and well, Pepito [Giuseppe Rossi] is devastating," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "He could be Fiorentina's best signing. His recovery has been fully on track so far and this is a good sign."
Rossi missed the whole of last season due to a knee injury, while he has been restricted to just 25 appearances for the Viola in two and a half years in Florence.
The 28-year-old has taken his return to action more slowly this time around, though, and is now set to return without the haste of just over a year ago, when he had hoped to earn a place in Italy's World Cup squad.
On Sunday, Rossi is set to lead Fiorentina's attack against Milan, fuelling Valero's belief that he will be on the winning side again this season.
"When I accepted the offer of the [Fiorentina owners] Della Valles, I would never have imagined finishing so far ahead of Inter and Milan," the 30-year-old added. "They are two clubs who have written important chapters in the history of Italian football and they spend more money than we do during the transfer windows.
"I hope to finish ahead of them both again this season. I'm never happy just to look at the past. We've always got to try to do even better because this is the right way to reason, even if we know full well it's going to be difficult. Fiorentina-Milan's going to be a spectacular game."